The Australian Sprintcar Championship is a

dirt track racing Dirt track racing is a form of motorsport held on clay or dirt surfaced oval race tracks often used for thoroughbred horse racing. Dirt track racing started in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s ...

championship held each year to determine the Australian national champion for winged

sprint car racing Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...

. The single championship meeting runs in either late January or early February and has been held each year since the Windsor RSL Speedway in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

hosted the first championship in 1963. After the first nine championship meetings were held in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, the Sprintcar Control Council of Australia (SCCA) now holds the meeting in a different state on a rotational basis, with 1972 seeing the first championship held outside of NSW at the

Premier Speedway Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (Al ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The Australian Sprintcar Title is only open to Australian drivers and is run and sanctioned by the SCCA. Because it is restricted to Australian drivers only, the race has a lot prestige for local drivers to become their country's National Champion.

History

The championship has gone by different names over its 52 years as in that time Sprintcars have evolved from crude modified 'hot rods' to the dual winged, 410 cubic inch engined cars of today. The majority of race cars and engines are imported from the US, although some local chassis builders still exist. Sprintcars themselves are modular, with many combinations of chassis and engine possible. Equipment is highly specialised. Wheels, suspension, wings, drive train and fuel tank all bolt to a chassis. From 1963 to 1964 the title was known as the Australian Sportsman Hot rod Championship. In 1965 this changed to the Australian Hot Rod Championship. This was again changed in 1966 to the National Super Modified Championship but the 1965 name re-appeared in 1967. From 1968 to 1970 the meeting was known as the Australian Super Modified Championship while from 1971 to 1978 the title was then called the Australian Modified Sprintcar Championship before changing one more time in 1979 to its current name, the Australian Sprintcar Championship. The Australian championship, along with the

Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic The Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic is an Australian dirt Sprint car racing meet that takes place at the Sungold Stadium Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, Victoria every year in late January. The classic traditionally takes place one week before ...

held exclusively at

's Premier Speedway, are seen the two most prestigious single Sprintcar meetings on the Australian speedway calendar. Another prestigious race is the

Australian Sprintcar Grand Prix The Australian Sprintcar Grand Prix is an annual dirt track racing meeting held in Australia for Sprintcars. The meeting is traditionally held at the Sydney Speedway (formerly the Parramatta City Raceway) and was first staged in the 1978/79 sea ...

held annually at the

Sydney Speedway Sydney Speedway (known commercially as Valvoline Raceway and formerly as Parramatta Speedway, and often referenced as Sydney Speedway I to differentiate with its successor) was a dirt track racing venue on the site of the Granville Showgrounds ...

. The championship is separate to Australia's national Sprintcar series, the World Series Sprintcars which has been running since 1987. Unique restrictions apply to the Australian Championship. Only Australian residents and citizens are eligible to participate; foreign drivers are not eligible to participate in this event. Retired Sydney based driver Garry Rush holds the record with ten Australian championship wins and 18 podium finishes between 1966 and 1998. New South Wales based drivers have dominated the title with 36 wins from 52 championships. Six drivers were from

, three each from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, two winners have been from

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, and one from

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. While many successful Australian Sprintcar drivers started out racing Speedcars, only three drivers have ever won both the Australian Sprintcar Championship and the

Australian Speedcar Championship The Australian Speedcar Championship is a Dirt track racing, dirt track motor racing championship held in Australia each year to determine the Australian national champion in midget car racing. The single championship meeting, run over two nights ...

. They being Sydney drivers George Tatnell and Robert Farr, and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

's Phil March. Victorian driver

Max Dumesny Max Dumesny (born 12 July 1959, in Nullawarre, Victoria) is an Australian professional Sprintcar driver. Dumesny was born and raised in Victoria but has resided in Nelson, New South Wales since the mid-1990s, although his Sprintcar carries the ...

, who won the championship in 1991, 1998 and 2002, was also the Australian Formula 500 Champion in 1981 and 1983, and is the only driver to achieve the Formula 500-Sprintcar double. Dumesny is also the son-in-law of former racer Sid Moore, having married Moore's daughter, Melinda, herself a former Sprintcar driver, in 1992. On 25–28 January 2012

Speedway City Speedway City (known as Speedway Park from 1979 to 2001 and Speedway City from 1997 to 2016) is a Dirt track racing venue located 26 km north of Adelaide in Virginia, South Australia, adjacent to the Adelaide International Raceway. Histo ...

in Adelaide hosted the 50th Anniversary Australian Sprintcar Championship. Sydney driver Brooke Tatnell won his 5th Australian championship and repeated the feat of his late father George Tatnell who won his only Australian Sprintcar Title at the track in 1988 (the 1988 meeting was also the younger Tatnell's first appearance in the championship at just 16 years of age). George and Brooke Tatnell are one of only two father-son combinations to win the championship, the other being Sydney's Steve and Garry Brazier The 2014 Australian Champion was former Tasmanian driver David Murcott who won his first national championship after finishing third in 2012 and second in 2013. The 2014 championship was held at the

Latrobe Speedway Latrobe or La Trobe may refer to: People * Christian Ignatius Latrobe (1758–1836), English clergyman and musician * Charles La Trobe (1801–1875), first lieutenant-governor of Victoria, Australia, son of C. I. Latrobe * Benjamin Henry Latrobe ( ...

in Latrobe, Tasmania. Murcott, who is based in Victoria, became the first Tasmanian driver to win the Australian Sprintcar Championship. The 2015-16 Australian championship was held at the Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, Victoria on 29–31 January 2016. Sydney's

Kerry Madsen Kerry Madsen (3 December 1971) is an Australian sprintcar driver that has raced with the World of Outlaws in both his home country, and predominantly the United States. For years, the Saint Mary's, New South Wales, Australia native has drive ...

won his second Australian title (having won his first also in Warrnambool in 2003) from Brooke Tatnell with Jamie Veal finishing 3rd.2015-16 Victorian Sprintcar Calendar

Winners since 1963

There were two races in 1986. The first was for the 1985–86 season, held in January. The second was for the 1986–87 season since the Australian Sprintcar Championship was held at Northline Speedway on the grounds of Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, and held early to avoid the October–April wet season. The 1988 race was for the 1987–88 season. The Australian sprint car racing season is technically 1 July–June 30.

Australian 360 Sprintcar Championship

Since the early 2000s, Sprintcar racing in Australia has seen a shift into two divisions. This is down to the different cubic capacity of the engines used. The top division runs 410 cui (6.7 Litre) engines while those who use the smaller 360 cui (6.0 Litre) engines race in their own division. While the two divisions mix at regular track meetings, the 360 Sprintcars have their own state and national championships. Robbie Farr and Jamie Veal are the only drivers to have won both the open and 360 Championships, Farr having won the open championship in 2004 and the 360 championship in 2013 and Veal the 360 championship in 2017 and the open championship in 2020. The current (2017) Australian Champion is Victoria's Jamie Veal who won the title at the

Perth Motorplex Perth Motorplex is a motorsport venue located at Kwinana Beach, Western Australia. It caters mainly for drag racing and speedway, although other events are held there regularly. Over 275,000 patrons attend the venue each year to many varied events ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia.

Winners since 2004

References

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External links